Readers letters - Green manifesto is old homes disaster

Scottish stone cottage

Green manifesto is old homes disaster

Celia Hobbs has every good reason to be worried about the Greens’ manifesto (letters, 4 May). For anyone living in rural Scotland in an old stone built property, it is a disaster.

They want all homes to be insulated to an acceptable standard by 2025 or the owners will be unable to sell. It would take longer than that to train most contractors how to treat old houses which require to breathe.

They seem to think it is acceptable to cover everything in plasterboard or fill it with concrete, including all the beautiful features associated with stone built properties.

We have removed a number of them from our property who have arrived offering government grants and frightened us to death with their lack of knowledge.

Not content with wrecking our properties, the Greens also want to destroy our landscape by doubling the size of the wind industry. How many people living in rural Scotland are going to vote for them with a policy like that?

With 4394 operational turbines (over 100kw), Scotland already has more turbines than the other three countries in the UK put together and an FOI response from the Scottish government shows we have a further 1722 turbines in the planning process.

Do any of these Green people actually live or work in rural Scotland or associate with the people who live there?

Aileen Jackson, Uplawmoor, Renfrewshire.

Closures mean we can’t take that back

Having read the article on people wanting to return goods to House of Fraser (Jenners) and being unable to, (News, May 3), I had the same with a purchase I made in Debenhams.

I was waiting to return to the store where it was bought but they did not reopen. Debehams told me to return it to my nearest store which would have been in England and not only was it a bit far to go, we were not allowed to travel over the border.

Lilian Clephane, Edinburgh.

Alba news blackout is politically driven

The complete news blackout of the new Alba independence party by the British state broadcaster and the willingness of the other media outlets and political parties to meekly go along shows with devastating clarity why Scotland needs to break from the undemocratic hegemony known as the UK.

Alba represents a threat to the British State because voting Alba on the list threatens Unionist MSPs and a larger pro-independence Holyrood majority brings the restoration of Scottish independence closer.

When it comes to Scotland, different - ie more undemocratic – standards apply. Farage’s UKIP never won a Westminster seat yet the man was continually on TV and had a perennially warm seat on Question Time.

The Liberal Democrats weren’t blacked out, either, not that it has done them much good. The difference, dear reader, is they didn’t and don’t threaten the precious Union. Alba clearly does.

The British State is so terrified of losing Scotland’s revenues and resources that it will use everything in its imperialist toolbox to deny Scots the choice to govern themselves. Controlling the media is one of their most effective tools.

Recent news that a majority of Scots don’t believe the Unionist lies about Scotland being too poor to prosper on its own shows that the truth does eventually break through. A decisive majority for independence on Thursday would be another welcome sign.

Leah Gunn Barrett, Merchiston Crescent, Edinburgh.